AC Milan ruins Inter’s treble bid with derby win to reach Italian Cup final
AC Milan hasn’t achieved much this season — except when playing city rival Inter Milan.
Milan ruined Inter’s bid for a treble and advanced to the Italian Cup final with a 3-0 derby win Wednesday courtesy of two goals from Luka Jovic.
It was Milan’s third win over Inter this season, having also beaten the Nerazzurri in the Italian Super Cup final in January.
“It was a very important game for us. As you know we are not that good in Serie A. We had to show the quality today. We had to show the character,” Jovic said. “And we showed it and we are going to Rome.”
And if Milan can win another trophy, coach Sergio Conceicao might have a chance at keeping his job — despite the seven-time European champion sitting ninth in Serie A.
Winning the Italian Cup — which carries a Europa League berth — could be Milan’s only route to a spot in continental play for next season.
Milan advanced on 4-1 aggregate following a 1-1 first leg.
Bologna brings a 3-0 lead over Empoli into the second leg of the other semifinal on Thursday.
The final is scheduled for May 14 in Rome.
Inter pressed forward early on and Federico Dimarco struck the crossbar in the 23rd. But Jovic put Milan ahead 13 minutes later with a powerful header and then doubled the advantage from close range shortly after the break.
Tijjani Reijnders added another for Milan in the 85th by finishing off a full team move.
“We have a lot of belief,” Reijnders said. “We have difficulties in the league but we know this is the fastest way to reach (Europe). And if we play like we did today we can win this trophy.”
It was Inter’s second straight loss after the Serie A leader fell 1-0 at Bologna on Sunday. Inter will play Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals.
Juventus posts first loss under Tudor
Juventus wasted a chance to move back into the Champions League places following a 1-0 loss at Parma in a rescheduled Serie A match.
Parma forward Mateo Pellegrino scored with a header in first-half stoppage time.
Juventus remained fifth, one point behind Bologna, with five rounds remaining.
Making matters worse for Juventus was that center forward Dusan Vlahovic came off at halftime with an apparent thigh issue.
Juventus was also in fifth place when it fired Thiago Motta last month and hired Igor Tudor as its new coach for the remainder of the season.
It was Juventus’ first loss under Tudor, following two wins and a draw.
Cristian Chivu took over as Parma coach in February and the team is on a six-game unbeaten run that also includes a 2-2 draw with Serie A leader Inter Milan this month.
Parma-Juventus was one of four matches postponed from Monday due to the death of Pope Francis. Each game was preceded by a moment of silence to mourn the pope, who died Monday at 88.
Lazio back in 6th
Lazio leapfrogged city rival Roma and moved back into sixth place — level on points with Juventus — with a 2-0 win at 10-man Genoa.
Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scored for Lazio after Genoa defender Sebastian Otoa was shown a direct red card in his Serie A debut for pushing down Mattia Zaccagni.
The match was suspended briefly during the first half when flares lit by Genoa’s hard-core “ultra” fans covered the field in smoke.
Lazio also ended with 10 men when Reda Belahyane made a hard tackle late in the second half.
Also, eighth-place Fiorentina came back from a goal down for a 2-1 win at Cagliari with goals from Robin Gosens and Lucas Beltran; and Torino beat Udinese 2-0 with a first-half goal from Scotland forward Ché Adams and a late strike from Ali Dembele.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
